Cartlidge Levene

Beyond the Bubble, a book that discusses the contrast between the architecture of the ‘Bubble’ era in Japan when remarkable economic growth generated a large number of spectacular buildings and ambitious urban projects, and the ‘post-Bubble’ architecture of the mid-1990s onwards, when financial recession gave rise to projects that demonstrated a sense of modesty, restraint and down-to-earth innovation.

The 300 page book consists of two essays plus an image-rich projects section showing key buildings from important architects working in the ‘post-Bubble’ era. The essay section works on a simple typographic grid with a clear cross-referencing system for captions, images and footnotes. Images are stacked from the bottom of pages, echoing the urban environment. In the projects section images, architectural plans and drawings are varied in size and layout to provide pace, contrast and interest.